Spar India plans hypermarket rollout

Grocery retail brand Spar says it plans “significant growth” in India – with 25 hypermarkets operational by the end of 2017.

Netherlands-based Spar International recently reported 2014 global retail sales of €31.9 billion from 12,300 stores in 40 countries. It is anticipates its India operations will reach €300 million turnover by 2019.

The announcement was made during the visit of the Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, with a Dutch Trade delegation, to a Spar Hypermarket in New Delhi.

Spar re-entered the Indian market last August after signing a partnership agreement with Max Hypermarkets. The partnership has already successfully re-launched 16 Spar Hypermarkets with an additional four openings planned this year, all offering an extensive range of food and non-food, at competitive prices. The hypermarkets are spread across nine locations in India – four in Delhi, Gurgaon and Ghaziabad; five in Bangalore; two in Mangalore; two in Hyderabad; one in Chennai, one in Pune and one in Coimbatore.

Spar India*From left: Dr Gordon Campbell – Spar International MD, Dutch Agriculture Minster Sharon Dijksma, Prime Minister Mark Rutte,  Viney Singh – MD of Spar India, Ambassador of the Netherlands to India, Nepal & Bhutan Alphonsus Stoelinga and Hans de Boer, Head of Mission (back left).

Spar International MD Dr Gordon Campbell said the company’s growth and success in India provides an ideal case study for the suitability of the Spar model in emerging markets.

“Where other global brands have struggled to gain traction, Spar’s brand values and offering, global expertise and partnership model, have brought immediate benefits for retailer, supplier and, ultimately, the consumer.”

Spar International unites and works in partnership with independent retailers by working together to share global scale and expertise to enhance the competitiveness of its retail partners worldwide and build the Spar brand internationally. In emerging markets such as in Asia, Spar has specialised in developing modern supply chains to enable the efficient movement of goods from local producers to the shop shelf. In India alone, the company now supports over 4000 local vendors who supply food and merchandise to the growing Spar India network.

Viney Singh, MD of Spar India, said: “We are delighted with the results since we converted our first 16 hypermarkets to the Spar brand. Spar’s understanding of international best practice in retail operations and supply chain management, combined with our consumer understanding and local sourcing strengths have created an immediate uplift in store sales. The Spar brand propositions of freshness and value have been very well received by the Indian consumer.”

Globally, the Spar brand now adorns 12,300 hypermarket, supermarket, neighbourhood and convenience stores worldwide, serving 13 million customers every day.

 

You have 7 articles remaining. Unlock 15 free articles a month, it’s free.